French Police Arrest 13 Turkish Kurds on Terrorism Financing Charges

Authorities in France say they have arrested 13 Turkish Kurds on suspicion of helping to finance terrorism.

Police say the Kurds are suspected of involvement in a money laundering network that funds the militant Kurdistan Workers Party, also known by the initials PKK. Turkey, the United States and the European Union classify the PKK as a terrorist organization.

Police say Monday's arrests in the suburbs of the capital are part of an investigation that began last July when two Kurds were arrested in Paris trying to exchange 200,000 euros (about $260,000) in cash into other currencies.

The PKK has been fighting Turkey for autonomy since 1984. More than 37,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Monday's arrests took place in the Paris suburbs of Yvelines, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, and the Val d'Oise.